Affirmation
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: "Sharon ran her hand through Andrea's slightly tangled hair and felt another wave of guilt wash over her; for there was no anger or resentment in either Andrea's tone or body language, just drowsy contentedness and obvious affection." Written for o banaa for the majorcrimes gift exchange.


Sharon let out a controlled breath as she tip-toed into the darkened living room, careful of course, to avoid the sensible heels that were haphazardly lying near the couch. She shook her head knowingly at her lover's less than loved habit and bit her lip; were she sneaking into her own home shortly after 2:00am on any other evening she'd likely have a few stern words with her lover, but tonight the DDA was going to be granted a reprieve.

She made to turn off the light next to her sofa when a figure groaned and turned over under her throw. Guilt settled itself deeper in her gut and instead, she crouched on the floor right in front of the sofa and gathered the cotton throw in her hands; gently, she pulled it down to reveal a groggy looking Andrea Hobbs still dressed in a black pencil skirt and dark silver button down. Her skirt was wrinkled beyond recognition and the button down was no longer tucked neatly into the skirt, but rather, untucked and mostly unbuttoned. Andrea's hair had that slightly wild quality about it that Sharon loved; it was full and soft and beautifully unruly thanks to her impromptu nap.

"Hi," Sharon said tenderly. She allowed the throw to fall down from her grasp as she braced herself against the sofa with one hand while the other moved to caress her lover's face.

"Did I fall asleep?" Andrea asked embarrassedly. She blinked a few times before sitting up and taking in her surroundings, including her less than put-together appearance. "Wrap everything up?" she asked through a stifled yawn. She blinked a few more times before registering that Sharon was on the floor; frowning, she reached out and gently tugged Sharon so that she was seated next to her on the sofa.

"Yes, finally. I'm so sorry," Sharon answered as she wrapped an arm around Andrea and encouraged her lover to curl herself around Sharon's body, which Andrea did, happily. Sharon ran her hand through Andrea's slightly tangled hair and felt another wave of guilt wash over her; for there was no anger or resentment in either Andrea's tone or body language, just drowsy contentedness and obvious affection.

Andrea could feel the misplaced tension in Sharon's body. "Stop doing that. Feeling bad. You had to go in, I understand," Andrea murmured against Sharon's shoulder.

Sharon huffed. "I know, just…" she trailed off as Andrea began to nuzzle the sensitive dip between her neck and shoulder. In response, Sharon ran her fingers more firmly through Andrea's hair, applying pressure to the tired woman's scalp, eliciting a shiver from her.

"You're here, you're safe and now you have the morning off which works out nicely because I, too, have taken tomorrow morning off. You can make it up to me by letting me sleep in and then making me breakfast," Andrea asserted.

Sharon let out a chuckle. "And how do you know that I have the morning off, hmm?" she teased.

Andrea tilted her head upwards and brushed her lips against Sharon's chin. "Because I know that Provenza fears my wrath, therefore I am certain that he insisted that you two work in alternating shifts tomorrow," Andrea said.

Sharon met Andrea's smugly grinning lips for a proper kiss. "Mmm, you know my team far too well," she conceded.

"You know, I totally thought that this might happen to us last year, but it didn't. I consider it only fair that it would happen this year," Andrea mused. "I'm okay with that, with it happening every other year. That's a decent compromise." Wide-awake but still feeling the lure of slumber, Andrea burrowed closer to Sharon with a smile.

Sharon hummed and kissed Andrea's forehead. A comfortable silence overtook them for precious moments as they each got lost in their thoughts. Sharon mulled Andrea's words over and over again in her mind and found herself marveling for the hundredth time at just how lucky she'd gotten to find herself a partner as understanding and like-minded as the sleepily affectionate blonde in her arms.

Needing to feel her beloved, despite the insanity of the hour and the exhaustion that they both shared, Andrea extended her neck and grinned, beckoning Sharon closer. Sharon wordlessly complied, slanting her mouth over the blonde's so that Andrea could nibble on her lower lip, drawing her in for a kiss that belied their exhausted bodies. Andrea's hand slipped underneath Sharon's blouse and tickled the soft flesh beneath her fingertips.

"Mmm, so I'm forgiven then?" Sharon asked softly against Andrea's smiling lips.

"Always," Andrea asserted as she swept her hand higher to cup Sharon's bra-clad breast. "In fact, if you were to take me to bed right now I would be more than happy to show you how forgiving I truly am," she said, part in jest and part in truth. Tonight they'd fall asleep, limbs entwined, but the sweetness of their lovemaking would wait until morning, when Andrea could fold back the sheet that encased them to their bed and pay proper worship to every inch of the woman that she so completely adored.

Sharon giggled and moved an errant chunk of hair away from Andrea's face. "In all seriousness, I cannot properly express in words how very grateful I am to you and your truly forgiving nature," she whispered.

"You don't have to," Andrea assured as she leaned into Sharon's touch and kissed Sharon's palm. "Just like you tell me that I don't have to worry about needing your forgiveness when it's my boss who pulls me away from a night with you. It's what we do, who we are, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it, about us."

"I love you," Sharon breathed, "So very much."

"Happy Anniversary Sharon," Andrea responded.


End file.
